The Reign of King Viserys, first of His Name, and the Dance of the Dragons That Came After

The Reign of King Viserys, first of His Name, and the Dance of the Dragons That Came After is a historical book written by Septon Eustace regarding the reign of King Viserys I Targaryen.[1]

When Archmaester Gyldayn wrote The Princess and The Queen, or, The Blacks and The Greens, he used Eustace's writings as one of his sources because they contained information not found elsewhere. However, Gyldayn also felt that Eustace was a green supporter and biased to portray Aegon II in a positive light and Rhaenyra in a negative light. Therefore, Gyldayn was often careful to weigh statements from Eustace's writings with other quotes from contradicting sources, hoping that the truth could be discerned somewhere in between.[2]

Maester Yandel calls the tome to have a dry and ponderous writing-style, although he considers Eustace, clearly a confidant of the Targaryens, to speak accurately of many things.[1]

Behind the Scenes

The novella The Princess and the Queen, published in the anthology Dangerous Women in 2013, is the abridged version of "The Dying of the Dragons", a chapter meant for Fire and Blood.[N 1] The editors shortened the text, and as a result some things in the text appear biased because additional, complicating material has been removed. An example is Rhaenyra Targaryen claiming the Iron Throne. For example, the published text of The Princess and the Queen states that Rhaenyra took several cuts from the Iron Throne, which was cited as proof that she should not rule. While the original text makes it clear this entire passage is a direct quotation of Septon Eustace's text, the published text of The Princess and the Queen omits that Eustace is the source, instead making it seem as if Gyldayn himself is voicing his opinion.[3]